Space heater



' VApril 14, 1942. l

R. B. EVANS Erm.

SPACE .HEATER Filed Aug.` 5, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 INVENTOR, Robert BEI/crfzs ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. l14, 1942 snor: mma

atten annui, romena Eugene r.

Farrell, 1i Detroit, Mich., assigner: to. EvansV l Products Company,

tion of Delaware Detroit,` Mich., a corporai "spiiicaiiii aurait s,1939, "serial No. 288,542

` nomme. ,.(oi. 12e-110)- This inventionlrelatesto space heaters ortholike, and particularly to the door-Supported cab" inet type of unitspace heater'having a `combustion unitt`o heat air to a hightemperaturegand Y an air circulating fan'thereinfor circulating thishigh. temperature` .air through `rooms,` `small heating unit and will'discharge a stream of the high temperature air` acrossand close totheroom door. The several `parts are so arranged homes, `orthe like-'Preferably, the fan iseinV i thelower1part 'oi the cabinetadjacent anopening located closely above the iloor soV thatthe 1 ian `will `drawair down past the combustionthat upon `nongopei'atio'nT of the ian thespace.

`heaer may operate bythe natural upward cone vection circulation of airtherethrough.

This invention also relates to space heatersof thegeneralcharacter shownin our prior appli` cations. N. .232,502, illed September 30,` 1938,and* the application of Schueder and Farrell, S. N. 259,094, iiled March1, 1939, and it em` bodies 1features disclosed and claimed in theseprior applications. The general arrangement and structure of thecabinet, itsdoors, the heating drum andit's' oil burner, the fuelcontrols, the oil tank' with its mounting andlcoolinggthe transversepartitionand the like are; or may be, generally similar-.to ourpriorapplication noted above. `The feature of the fan-forcedstream of hightemperature air across `and close to, but safely above, the room door is.commonto our prior `application and the application of SchuederandFarrellhboth `noted.`above. The additional feature i. whereby'` thisair discharge is caused by a blower unitalongside. of andthe dischargeof which is* directly (out. lthrough the cabinet opening. iSalsoeinbodied in" the last mentioned application.

In genera-1,. the objects of the present invention are to `provideanimproved and simplined unit spaceheater having a fan-forced and low ebynatural upward convectionand circulate into the room from the cabinetsupper opening.

Other and more detailed objects and advantages will be apparent from thefollowing descriptionand `the drawings," in which:

l1iig. `1 is a front elevation view of`a space heater embodying ourinvention, the outer casin g being broken `away to show internal parts:

line zl-zlof Fig. 1; 1

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on vtheline 3--3 of Fig. 2;l w

` Fig. 4 isa fragmentary view similar to Fig. 1

Flg.'2 isa vertical sectional view taken on theV and showing the lowerend of another embodi` ment oi our invention; and i Fig. 5 is--a viewtaken transversely of Fig. 4 just above the level of the fan and motor.

`Inthe drawings, Figs. 1,' 2 and 3 show one`embodimen't of theinvention.

i The outer body or casing'i is formed o! sheet metal formed andsecuredin any conventional or desired manner. This casing i is of substan--tially rectangulartransverse cross-section and Vis in. thef forni ofthe so-called low-boy" `t -of cabinet. The cabinet is supported at itscor-4 'ners and is spaced abovethe -iloor by feet 3 which are sheetmetal. expansions. `The bottom plate 2. issuitably secured to close thebottom of the cabinet completely except `for the combustion air intakeopenings 22 and the spaceunder the e oil tank 5 or on `the other side ofthe partition l,

which space is left open. l i

The tank efor fiquid fuel, such as oil, is re- .movably mounted bysuitable clips on and spaced from` the .outermost of the twoinsulatlngly spaced, sheet metal, partition plates 6. vThus this tank 5is insulated from the heat and is also cooledby'the air whichV risesfreely through the open bottom up and around the tank. ThisA 40 tank`S'has a suitable swing-out filling spout and level, but safe; dischargeof high temperature air across andi'close to the door. More partallydirected, :propeller 'type ian or are' positioned at the same level,closelyalongside of, and discharging directly out through the-lowopening ,or` openings" which are located at the bottom (preferablyiinthe iront) ofthe cabinet closely above the roomtloor sothat theian means3 .will draw air down `past the combustionfheating a level indicator.Access tothe filling spout is had thifQush a conventional door 5d, Theparti#y tion plates 6 aresuitablyscured to the base plate 2 and bracethe shell i. The combustionheating unit is designated as a whole; by-the numeral 4. It includes a sheet metal heating drum having a top 8and upright side walls 1 supported and closed by bottom plate 2.Supporting partition -II is suitablysceured to the walls 1 jandcarriesburners-I4 in corresponding openings therein. For an oil burner v .unit,these bui-ners.` Il arethe conventional pot type. Thus unit andthendischargeit"outlthrough the low 4level openings. andso 'that'. whenthe ian lis not .the spacein the drum above I3 forms anexpension chamberand the space below it4 forms operating the airfmay the cabineto acombustionchainber. 4A sheet metal radiation heat shield ordrum-enclosing wall 32 is uniformly spaced about the drum 1-8 andsupported by suitable brackets 30 and the base plate 2 so that this walldenes two upwardly extending, air heating pasageways, both of whichcommunicate freely with the large area upper opening 26'. It will beapparent that the innermost passageway (inside wall 32) is of smallercross-sectional area and also at a much higher temperature.

The oil is supplied from the tank 5 through pipe I5 to a conventionalregulating valve and level-maintaining float unit I8 which is carried bya suitable supporting strap |80.. The oil supply for each burner isregulated by a rotary valve, and these valves are manually controlled byshafts I9 and 2I which extend up through suitable controls which are notshown herein but may be as disclosed in our prior application or inother desired arrangements. Pipes I6 and I1 carry the oil to each of theburners I4.

'Base plate 2 has combustion air vinlet openings 22 which may haveregulating means, such as the pivoted adjustable plates or dampers 23,The products of combustion expand and give up heat in the expansionchamber 'and rise through the .flue or stack connection 24 which extendsthrough corresponding openings in the wall 1 and the shield 32. A stovepipe fitting 25 which extends in through a corresponding opening in theshell I'is removably connected to ilue` connection 24 and communicateswith thel usual chimney or stack.

Thecabinet top 21, which `may be integral as shown, has openings 26 toform a large 'area grille. 'I'hese openings may be formed in the sheetmetal top by cut and stamped or bent down portionsas shown. ,l

The lower end wall of the cabinet shell adjacent and -underneath the oiltank 5 has an air inlet grille 29 which may be formed integral with the.shell `wall and with upright vanes to strengthen the cabinet. Thisopening 29provideslan additional inlet for cooling air to rise uparound.through valve oat unit I8 and the oil tank 5-..to cool themA and thento rise out thrcughfthetop openings 26 or else, when the fansarerunning, to be all or partly drawn down on the other side of thesupporting and insulating partition 6. It will be apparent that thisseparate, upwardly extending passage orv chamopening or notch 39 of theshell I and having a radial ilange 48 overlapping the edges of thisopening 38. The bottom of cup member 35 is spaced from the shield wall32 by sound and heat insulating devices 36. Bolts 31 pass through wa-ll32, sleeves 36, member`35, and lugs 38 extending from the electric motorto hold these parts in place.

The lower iront side of shield wall 32 has a circular opening 43 havinga cylindrical flange 42 forming a short duct or air directing cowling tocontain the propeller type fan 33 which is of slightly smaller diameter.Thus this short air directing duct 42 will improve the directional eiectof the fan and reduce the diilusion or radial discharge from its blades.

The ian 33 is secured on shaft 44 which is journaled in a bearing 45rigidly held in the interior of the opening 43 by a spider 46 comprisingstraps 41 which embrace the sides oi the bearing 45 and-which are bentout at their ends to form feet 48 riveted or otherwise con'- nected toange 42. The two straps 41 may also be suitably connected together.

A connecting shaft 49 extends alongside of and between the two burnersI4 and connects the' motor shaft 5I and the fan shaft 44 by suitablyyieldable and resilient muil couplings 52 formed to aiford a heat andnoise insulation and to also act to a'limited extent as misalignmentcouplings. It is desirable to prevent the transmission of heat to themotor along its shaft, and the fan and motor assembly noise will be alsoreduced by such couplings. y

The grille 28 is at the bottom of the cabinet spaced slightly above thefloor by feet 3, and the fan 33 and directing duct 42 (which are nearlythe same diameter) are quite close to grille 28 and at the same level sothat the fan and its cowling duct will throw a horizontal stream of hightemperature vair directly out through grille 28 (which will spread orfan it out horizontally) in a stream which is close to but spacedsuflicently above the floor to prevent dangerous overber having anvopentop or bottom, which contains the oil tankand oil controls, willhave a natural chimney action or convection circulation keeping it cool.v

The lower front wall of the cabinet shell `has a circular, stamped-insocket opening which receives and frictionally retains a large areaopening grille 28 which may be formed by cuttingand stamping-in vanesfrom the curved bezel 54. It will be noted that these upright variespoint .in generally towards a common center so that they will laterallyspread or -fan out the .fan forced air stream. y

Access to the interior of the heating unit and to the burners may be hadthrough conventional cabinet door 56, an opening 51 intheshield ordrum-enclosing wall 32, and the heating drum door 58, Y

l A multifbladed propeller type fan 33 is driven by an electric motor 34which is mounted so that it is removed from and'insulated from the heatof the combustion unit and so that it may be easily serviced. The motoris mounted and shielded by a cup member 35 mounted in an heating thereofsince it will' not strike the iloor close to the cabinet or until thestream has been cooled and diffused to a suillcient extent. It may benoted that the height of the fan 33 above the iloor is less than itsdiameter and, in fact, is roughly4 equal to its radiusin this specicembodiment.

Thus, during ian operation, the fan will, if it is powerful enough, drawall of the air down through the innermost and smaller area `and hotterpassageway (between wall 32 and drum walls 1) and will draw some or all(depending on its power) of the partly heated air rising up through theseparate oil tank passageway. When the fan is not running, outside orroom air will enter grille 28 and, through opening 43, will rise upthrough the inner airpheating passageway by normal convectioncirculation as in a conven` tional air irculatingspace heater. Some, ora small amount of, the airAentering grille 28 may rise up through thespace between iiange 42 and the shell I and go up the outer and largerand lower temperature passageway. Y

The lower end of the cabinet shell, remote from' the oil tank, may, ifdesired, have an air inlet grille 3I which is similar to grille 29.'Also the lower end of the shield wall 32 may, if desired,haverelatively small or rather restricted openings or cut-out notches59, as shown. Itl

neither opening 3l nor openings 59 were present, the lower end of theair heating passageway betweenthe `wall 32 and the cabinet?"I` "would beclosed and would form a vdead air space with no appreciablel aircirculationfduring "Yfanj operal tion. or during non-fan operation.

riius itl win `be apparent that `instead ef being.3

relatively small or restricted, openings may be eliminated. Thus eachupwardlylextending air `heating passageway has its own bottom open'-ing. so that, Aduring fan `foperation.air is drawn down inside of wall32' anddlschargedput of griue nlwhiie en` is entering 3|,frising `unbe:`i tween 32 and I andrislng out through grille 26 or, in whole or inpart, depending up `on the pown ergo! the fan, being drawn downinttheinner passage. `When the `fari is notrunning, airenf ters ,and risesthrough each passagewaythrough also `be considered as a blower dischargeing Vnoazle. o

A s `disclosed with respect to Figs; 1 3, inc., and

` if-ldesired, the lower end or inewen n end the shell I may `have therelatively small 4openings 59 and grille y3|, respectively, to aid inprevent` ing; dead 'air spaces and in openingup the bot-` i tom intakearea for. upward convection circulal tion. However, it willbe apparentthat in this embodiment' both` openings 59 and'Il can be eliminatedsince each l fan can -draw hot air i downthrough its own separateheatingpassagen way and `each fan opening or grille can serve as 'f anair 'n inlet for the upward convection circu- 23 "and 3| respectively.`If,` as., shown. relatively d smallopenings! are used withopening-3|,"the` t inlet opening` area to theinner heating `pas`sage.

w'ay` is increased forits `normal upward-or nonfanl operation and,during fanoperation, some,

A eliminated 'if desired.

ora part,` of the air dischargedfbytheffan may bepulled infthrougliI 5.9wwhich is small enough d to permitfalnbeing drawn` down `through the ninnerpassageway. If opening 3| lwere notused, then, f during fannon-operation, air would` enter 28, some rising up the innerfpassagewayand some Pasin pthrldlgh i'anhd rising up the, outer passageway, y

Figs. 4an`d5 show another embodiment `'of this lation when the fanstarenot running.` Similarly, as noted with respect to Figs.13 inc.,`

either one of i opening 3i or openings can be It will also be apparentlin" each inpit lsto be -understood that variousvchanges invention.Since thelfeatures of the upper pore` tions ofthe heater unit are thesame "as in Figs.

1, 2 and 3, they` are not shown herein: Also many of the features ofthis `embodiment are the same as in Figs. 1, 2` and 3 andi `carry thesame reference numerals `and thus ,are `not further described herein.

`The `fansliaft bearing` issupported by a` tripodspiderii," the `strapsT62 of whicharebent i at 'their ends and secured totheilange I2 byscrews 631er other suitable "removable fastenings. The electricnrnotorSlis mounted on a suitablestrap 64a across the` openingbelowthe.

oil tank softhat the,` motor isjseparated and in-i sulated `fromthecombustion unit heat and is cooled by the rising current ofw'air in thisentiV passageway. Themotor shaft carries two Dul-` leys 465 i and L14.`Al conventional V-beltliS` connectspulley `B6 and pulley E] on 4thefanshaft M. "`Asecond propeller type fan 1i is` secured on` shaft 5.68.which isfjo'urnaledin a support pedestal 39 bolted on the base" 2.`fIwhe other end of shaft 68 `ilxedlyl carriesa pulley 12 which is drivenfrom pulley14 by a short V -gbelt '|3.` r

Grilles "and `'I8` are formed ln' convexbezels 16` andl andYfrictionally retained in sockets 15 and modifications may be apparentto those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scopeof this inventiornand therefore the same is only'to be limited by thescope of the prior artand the appended claims.

` 1. A unit space heater comprisinganuprlght upright cabinet adjacentits bottom, an upright Y propeller-type fan associated with said flasttwo openings to pull air downrthrough said inner passageway anddischarge it directly out into the `comprising an upright cabinet casinghaving an and `Bnl respectively, allas disclosedwithdrespect i togrille" 28., Thesel two grilles 15`andw18 and their fans or blower units"arefalso located at the same height andnsprea'dj or fan outthedischarge like grille 2B.` As`i`llustrated in Figs; 3 and 4, the fuelvalvweunitis mounted behind the electric `inotor 64. Y l 'o 1 Thus, inthis second embedimentfran :screws its stream of high temperature airdrawn down around the drum `walls just as disclosed vwith respecttotFigs. 1-3 inc. Fan 1I, however, draws its ,airfdown` the larger areaouter heating passageway (between shelli andwall 32) at a lower velocity`due to the larger area which matches the lower temperature andconsequent lower heating rate in this outer passage. Since` thetemperature of the airdischarged by fan 1I is not so high, a directingcowling or duct like l2 is not as necessary. This short' duct 42 may upsaid outer passageway byeonvectioneircula-V 2. A unitgspace heater foraA roomY or the like open top and a circular opening in the lowerportion of its front wall, feet supporting the lower end of said `casingclose above the room floor, ail liquid fuel pot` burner i'n the lowerportion of` said casing at lthe level of `said circular openingenupright heating drum for conning the products of combustion above saidburner, an upright, spaced, enclosingwall for said drum providing aninner, open top, upwardly extending, air heatingpassageway around saiddrum and between it and said wall, a bottom plate closing the bottomofsaid inner passageway, said f wall being spaceddnwardly from saidcasing to form anfouter, open top, upwardly extending, airheatingpassageway, a lower airA inlet for `said outerpassageway so thatair may enterand rise tion, a horizontal aXispropelIer-type ffan closeto and discharging directly out through said circular opening andbetween it and seid burner,

a cowling about said fan communicating through an opening in saidenclosing wall so thatsald fan can` draw heated air rising in saidouterpassageway down through said inner passaged embodiment thattlie fansmaybe lused to, circulate air'in summer when the heating unit is not used.d 5

` `While only two embodimentsof "this inven` tion are illustrated anddescribed in detailherei way and discharge it into the room through saidvcircular opening.

3..A unit space yheater for a rooni or the like comprising an uprightcabinet lcasing having upper and lower openings including an openingsubstantially at the bottom of its upright front wall, feet supportingthe lower end of said casing above but close to the room iioor, a burnercontaining, upright heating .drum in and spaced from the casing wallsto,form anupwardly extending, airheating passageway of large crosssectional area and communicating with said lower and upper openings forupward convection circulation of airtherethrough, partition meansforming with said upright drum walls a downwardly extending, airheatingpassageway smaller than and within said larger passageway and having anupper air inlet within said larger passageway to supply heated airthereto, blower means associated with the lower end of said innerpassageway to draw air down through it and along said upright heatingdrum and havinga short air discharge directing pipe at the same level asand pointing horizontally toward said front bottomopeningtodischarge astream of high temperature air horizontally to and out throughv lenclosing w'all and said cabinet wall for said inner passageway, ashort, horizontal, outwardly extending, air directing duct or fancowling on said wall about its lower opening, and an uprightpropeller-type fan therein to draw air down through said inner passageand 'discharge it out through said lower cabinet opening in asubstantially horizontal stream. e

5. A unit space heater comprisingY an upright, floor supported casinghaving 'an open top and containing an upright combustion heating unitand one upright enclosing wall spaced aboutsaid heating unit and spacedinwardly from said casing to provide inner and'outer upwardly extendingand open topgair heating passageways, an

` opening means for said outer passageway in the lower portion of saidcasing and opening means for said inner-passageway includingcorresponding openings in the lower portions of said wall and saidcasing, and blowers in said casing and associated with 'each passagewayto circulate air downwardly through each air heating passageway and todischarge itoutfof its .lower opening'means.

6; The organization 'set forth in claim 5 in/ which each loweropeningnieans is horizontally directed and is close to but. spaced asafe distance above the floor and in which each bloweris an uprightpropellertype fan close behind its lower opening.

7.' The organization setrforth in claim. 5 in `which a blower drivingmotor is positioned' remote from and is insulated from said heating unitano. each blower is connected to be driven by said one motor.

8. A unit space heater comprising an upright, oor supported casinghaving an open top, two liquid fuel burners spaced side .by side' in thebottom of said casing, an upright expansion drum forl the products ofcombustion over'said burners and spaced inwardly from said uprightcasing to form an upwardly extendingl open top, air heating passageway,an opening in the lower front wall of said casing communicating withsaid passageway, a fan close behind and discharging lair out throughsaid opening after pulling it down said passageway, a fan driving motormounted on the opposite side voi' said casing, anda fan-motor connectingshaft extending alongside of and between said burners.

9 A unit space heater for rooms or the likeV comprising an uprightcasing having upright side walls, an open top, and meanssupporting itslower end upon and close above the room floor, a lateral opening throughthealower por-A tion of the upright side wall of said casing adjacentbut spaced above the room oor, an air heating, upright, combustion drumspaced within said casing forming a narrow space to provide an upwardlyextending air heating passageway, and an upright propeller-type fan insaidl narrow space andextending alongside of the lower side portion ofsaid drum and close behind said lower opening to pull air down throughsaid passageway around said drum and to discharge it directly out intothe room through said lower opening. y

10. A unit space heater comprising an upright, oor supported casinghaving an open topv and upright side walls spacedly enclosing an'upright burner-heating unit forming a narrow space to provide an uprightair heating passage therebetween, a lateral opening through the lowerportion of the upright side wall of said casing adjacent to but spacedabove the oor, an upright propeller-typefan in said narrow spaceextending alongside of the lower side portion of said burner-heatingunit close behind said openingv to pull air down through said passagewayaround said drum and discharge it directly out through said loweropening,` a driving electric motor mountedv on the opposite, outer sideof said casing to protect it from the heat from said burnerheating unit,and straight shaft means directly connecting said fan tc. said motor.

11. A unit room heater comprising an upright, open top casing having anupright front wall and having means 4to support it'on the room iioor, anupright combustion drum spacedly enclosed therein to form an upright,high temperature, air heating passageway with an open top, a burner inthe lower end of said drum, an access door in said drum above saidburner, a cooperating access door in the front wall of said casing, anupright, horizontally discharging, propeller-type fan drawing airthrough said open top and down said passageway and positioned in saidpassageway below said access doors alongside of the lower` side portionof said drum, and a discharge grille in said casing infront of said fan.

ROBERT l.` EVANS. y llilUGrEIIE F. FARREIL.

